


Ember Island

by the_savage_daughter_0627



Series: Zutara Week 2020 [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ember Island (Avatar), Eventual Katara/Zuko (Avatar), F/M, Fire Nation (Avatar), Implied Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, Katara (Avatar)-centric, Minor Aang/Katara, Minor Mai/Zuko, One Shot, Past Aang/Katara (Avatar), Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Romance, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, Vacation, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zutara Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:35:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26851546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_savage_daughter_0627/pseuds/the_savage_daughter_0627
Summary: The GaAng is supposed to go on vacation to Ember Island, but Sokka, Suki, and Toph can't make it. Zuko waits for Katara and Aang to arrive, but when she shows up by herself, she has a confession to make.Written for Zutara Week 2020 prompt, "Reunion". Reposted.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zutara Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1973368
Comments: 7
Kudos: 73





	Ember Island

**Author's Note:**

> Because I'm trash and didn't finish Zutara Week 2020, I'm reposting these as individual one-shots :)

He’s standing at the end of the dock at Ember Island when he sees the sky bison. For a moment his heart drops. He’s been half-hoping that they wouldn’t come. He had gotten Toph’s missive a few days ago. She wasn't able to come. And Sokka and Suki’s letter had arrived just that morning—something had come up in Republic City, and they wouldn’t be coming, either. 

So that just left him, the Avatar, and his girlfriend. No, that’s not right:  _ fiancé.  _ He had gotten Aang’s letter 3 months ago telling him he was going to propose, with a new betrothal necklace he had carved. And he had gotten Aang’s letter saying she had said yes.

That’s what all of this is about. He had orchestrated it himself, as it only seemed appropriate; a celebration of their betrothal. He’s irritated that the others have pulled out. Now he would be a third wheel to their happiness.

Maybe he could just leave, and leave a note saying something came up, and to just enjoy the Ember Island house for the week, just the two of them. 

But the thought of the Avatar and his fiancé, alone in  _ his _ house, bothers him. And besides, he wants to see her.  _ Needs  _ to see her, to tell himself it’s true.

_ Katara. _

His heart lurches painfully at the thought of her. It’s been nearly a year since he’s seen her last, at one of the council meetings for the United Council, and he wonders how much she has changed. How much  _ he  _ has changed. And what, if anything, has stayed the same.

He’s bitter about the engagement, but really, he has no one to blame but himself. He had his chance to make his feelings known to her. He should have kissed her on the day of Sozin’s Comet, maybe before they went to challenge his sister, or maybe after, when Katara had saved him. 

But he didn’t. 

And truthfully, there had been other times he could have done it too, but he always convinced himself it was a bad idea. How many times had she shown up at the palace, eyes bright with fury, because she and Aang had gotten into another argument? There were endless opportunities to say something, or to kiss her, after they had stayed up late drinking too many fire spirits and ranting about their respective love lives. But he never did. And neither did she. So she can’t possibly feel the same way. 

Because no matter how many times she and Aang fought, she always went back. And to his knowledge, there haven’t been any fights in a long time, either.

Now they are going to get married next spring. He has wasted his chances. 

Zuko watches the sky bison come closer, feeling the cool trickles of anxiety in the pit of his stomach. He’ll have to keep his mask on this week, but he’s gotten good at that. Five years at the helm of the Fire Nation, dealing with politics and politicians, have given him a good mask. If he doesn’t want them to, no one knows what he’s feeling. Maybe if he had let that mask fall with Katara…

But there’s no use thinking like that. Any chance he has is gone, swept away like ashes in the breeze. 

He’s surprised to see a lone figure, clad in blue, sitting on top of Appa’s broad head when the bison comes close enough to see details. He frowns. Where is Aang? Is Katara flying Appa while Aang rests? That doesn’t sound right to Zuko.  _ Maybe she came alone… _ But he doesn’t want to get his hopes up.

But when Katara brings Appa down to the beach, she  _ is  _ alone. She sends a small smile in Zuko’s direction, and he meets her on the sand. She climbs down off of Appa and stands before him, wringing her hands together the way she does when she’s nervous.

“Where’s Aang?” Zuko asks.

“He...couldn’t make it,” Katara hedges. She rolls her eyes and tries to play it—whatever  _ it _ is—like it’s a joke, but Zuko can see that there is something more in her eyes. “Something came up in Republic City and Sokka needed him.”

Zuko gets the feeling that there's more to it than that, but he isn’t going to push her. 

“So it looks like it’s just the two of us,” Zuko says to her with a small smile.

“Well, us and the royal guards,” Katara jokes, pointing out the soldiers standing a respectful distance away on the sand.

Zuko looks back at them before he glances at her, a crooked grin on his face. “Yeah, and the royal guards.”

* * *

  
  


That first day is a good one, but Zuko can tell that she is distracted by whatever she isn’t telling him. They go for a swim and have dinner on the porch of the house as they watch the sun set, and they talk—mostly about him. 

They don’t talk about the painful things, like why she isn’t wearing her betrothal necklace. They don’t talk about Mai. 

“Izumi is doing well in her studies, but I don’t think she’s going to be a bender,” Zuko says of his three year old daughter. “And I’m okay with that.”

“Let’s just hope she grows up to be kind and wise like her old man,” Katara says with a smile. 

Her smile has the power of a thousand suns, and Zuko wouldn’t mind basking in its light forever.

* * *

  
  


The second day, he takes her into the village to browse through the market stalls. It’s like a trip through time, to a simpler time when he was 16 and she was 14, when there weren’t politicians constantly in his ear and he didn’t carry the weight of the Fire Nation on his shoulders.

How many times had they come together to pick up food and supplies for them to take back to the Ember Island house? How many shared looks and laughs had passed between them?

Zuko is elated to see her smile return. The heaviness in her eyes is fading as she takes in the baubles and wares of the bustling marketplace. His guards stay close, but not too close that they can’t share whispers in each other’s ears.

Her eyes fall onto a necklace at a jeweler’s stall. It’s beautiful, with a red silk band and a carved gold pendant. Katara eyes it wistfully, one hand brushing across the gold while the other reaches up to her bare throat.

Without a second thought, and ignoring her protests, he buys it for her.

He wants to ask why she’s not wearing her betrothal necklace, but he won’t. Katara will tell him when she’s ready.

That night after dinner, he helps her put the necklace on. He ignores the thundering of his heart when his fingertips graze the soft skin on the back of her neck. A fleeting thought crosses his mind:  _ what would she do if I kissed her there?  _

But he doesn’t do it.

Instead he steps back and lets her see herself in the looking glass. She is beautiful, with her hair tousled from the sea breeze and her cheeks ruddy from the sun. Her eyes are oceans in her tanned face and when they meet his gaze he thinks he would happily drown in them. 

* * *

  
  


On the third day, they spend the day at the beach. When they’re not in the water, they’re collecting seashells and building sandcastles like they are children again. 

They have a picnic lunch above the tideline. To his surprise, she rests her head against his shoulder and tells him that she misses him.

Zuko buries his smile in her hair. He tells her he misses her too.

  
  


On the fourth night, he takes her to see the Ember Island Players. They’re doing a revival of The Boy In the Iceberg, and Zuko thinks it’ll be good entertainment. 

They sit above the crowd, secluded, the guards posted just beyond the curtains to allow them privacy. They sit close on the cushioned bench, close enough that he can smell the sea salt in her hair and feel the warmth of her beside him.

Soon they are laughing at the antics on the stage below, deep laughs that cause tears to spring to their eyes. The Ember Island Players are still so spirits- _ awful.  _

Zuko thinks the sound of her laughter is the sweetest melody he’s ever heard.

After the play is over they walk back to the house. The streets are quiet so the guards hang back, giving them privacy. If they suspect their lord’s feelings toward the waterbending master, they are very subtly helping him along. 

Zuko offers Katara his arm, and she puts her hand on the crook of his elbow. 

They reminisce over the play and of days gone by. Overall it’s a good evening, and Zuko goes to bed feeling happier than he has in years.

  
  


* * *

  
  


On the fifth morning, Zuko finds Katara down by the water as the sun crests the horizon. She’s in the ocean up to her ankles, watching the day break. He can see the streaks of tears that have dried, leaving a salty trail down her cheeks. 

“What’s wrong, Katara?” Zuko asks.

She doesn’t look at him when she says, “The wedding is off. I broke up with Aang.” She fingers the necklace at her throat. “For good, this time.”

Zuko doesn’t know what to say. His thoughts run through his mind like a maelstrom and all he can do is stare at her, hoping she’ll say more.

She does. 

“I thought I could love him. And I do love him, but not in that way.” She peeks at him from beneath her damp lashes. “I thought I could convince myself I did, but I can’t. Because the truth is, the love I have for Aang is a candle flame compared to the wildfire I feel for someone else.” 

Zuko wants to ask her who she’s talking about, but he’s afraid of the answer. What if it isn’t him? That might be more devastating than seeing her marry Aang. 

“I think I need some time for myself,” Katara says quietly. “I’ll see you at dinner, Zuko.”

He steps away. “Okay.”

He leaves her alone. He spends the day brooding in the house. She stays by the water, and sometimes he watches her from the window. Sometimes she’s bending, other times she’s just standing there. A few times he sees her sitting in the sand.

Zuko longs to go to her, to take her hands in his and confess his affections, his love for her that burns like a wildfire within him, hot and all-consuming. 

But he knows she needs her space, and in truth, he’s still afraid of her answer.

When dinner time arrives, he’s sitting at the table on the porch watching the sun go down. She had disappeared from the beach a few hours before, and while he’s anxious for her safety, he knows she is capable of handling herself. 

He’s waiting for her.

When she steps out into the porch, Zuko looks up and his breath catches in his throat, his greeting dying on his lips. 

Katara wears a red silk dress with gold fire lilies embroidered into the skirts. Half of her hair is up in a top knot while the rest tumbles freely to her waist. The necklace he bought for her is around her neck. She is beautiful.

“Hi,” she says timidly, clasping her fingers at her waist.

“Hi,” Zuko says. He’s breathless and his eyes are wide and he knows he’s staring but he can’t take his eyes off of her.

“I need to tell you something,” Katara says, her words staggered and small. She sits down and smooths her hands across her skirts. To his surprise, she reaches over and takes his hand in hers. Her fingers are small and cool. “It’s you, Zuko. It’s been you all these years.”

He swallows hard. He knows he should feel elated, but for the moment all he can feel is stunned. “Me?” It’s not what he wanted to say, but it’s all he can manage. 

Katara nods, dropping her eyes to their entwined fingers. “Why do you think I always came to you when Aang and I fought?” Her voice is little more than a whisper. “I was always trying to work up the courage...to tell you how I feel. But I always talked myself out of it. I know things have been hard since Mai…” 

She trails off and looks up at him in time to see him wince. She squeezes his hand. “I didn’t want to make you feel obligated.”

“Obligated?”

Katara waves her free hand toward the sea, a blush rising in her cheeks. “To feel the same way.”

“But Katara, I  _ do  _ feel the same way.”

Her eyes widen, and then her lips curve into a smile that is brighter than the sun. “You do?”

“I do.”

He kisses her then, like he’s wanted to for years. It’s everything he thought it would be and more. Her lips are soft beneath his and he brings his free hand up to cup her cheek. 

It’s like a spark ignites between them, like flint meeting tinder, igniting the wildfire that burns within them both.

He’ll worry about what this means tomorrow. For right now, all he can taste is the salt of the sea on her skin, all he can sense is the fire between them, rising up from the ashes of what he thought would never be. 

They are lost in the flames, and he will happily stay in the fire with her.


End file.
